Taylor Swift brought on the waterworks when she appeared on the third Annual Stand Up to Cancer telethon recently. Just hours after singing her breakup anthem “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, the country belle changed gears at the charity concert to debut “Ronan,” a new song about a four-year-old boy who passed away from cancer last year.

Co-written with Ronan’s mother  Maya Thompson, the song begins with memories of happier times: “I remember your bare feet/ Down the hallway/ I remember your little laugh/ Race cars on the kitchen floor/ Plastic dinosaurs/ I love you to the moon and back.”

But the track quickly turns somber as Taylor sings, “I remember the drive home/ When the blind hope turned to crying and screaming why/ Flowers pile up in the worst way/ No one knows what to say/ About a beautiful boy who died.”

“Ronan” struck a chord with audiences at home and quickly went to number one on iTunes. All proceeds benefit cancer patients courtesy of the Taylor Swift Charitable Fund. “This is a beautiful thing,” Taylor tweeted with a photo of “Ronan” at the top of the iTunes charts. “I love you so much.”

Taylor wasn’t the only big name on hand at the telethon. Appearances were also made by Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake, Gwyneth Paltrow, Coldplay, Jennie Garth, Halle Berry, Minka Kelly, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Samuel L. Jackson, Stacy Keibler, Gabby Douglas, Sofia Vergara, Seth Rogen, Robert Pattinson, and Katie Couric.

Listen to “Ronan” below. Is Taylor the voice of her generation?

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